School confirms meningitis case

ELKHART Â? Elkhart Community Schools confirmed Friday that one of its students died of bacterial meningitis and is working to alleviate parentsÂ? fears that their children may be infected, too.

A news release from Elkhart schools said Dennis K. Gross Jr., had enrolled at Woodland Elementary School after the Christmas break and had only spent three days in the school.

He attended Roosevelt Primary School last semester.

In a press release, Jodee Shaw, a school administration official, stated that bacterial meningitis Â?is not spread by being in the same room with the person who has the disease, unless there is close contact with the infected personÂ?s saliva.Â?

That means people at risk of infection are limited to the following: Â?Those who live with an infected person; Â?Those who have kissed an infected person on the mouth; Â?Those who have shared drinks with the infected person from the same container; Â?And those who have shared eating utensils with the infected person.

Asked how health authorities would know who came in close contact with Dennis, a second-grader, Mona Wenger of the Indiana State Department of Health said health authorities are contacting all those who may have come in close contact with him and advising them to watch for symptoms of the disease.

Â?If parents do notice any of the above symptoms in their children, they should immediately contact their personal healthcare provider,Â? Shaw, communications coordinator for the school administration, said.

The release said the Elkhart County Health Department has told school officials that parents of Roosevelt students Â?need not be overly concerned about their childrenÂ?s health as the student would not have been contagious prior to winter break .Â?

Counselors have been made available to help Roosevelt second-graders deal with the death of their former classmate, according to the news release.

A letter to parents from the schools and the Health Department was sent home with Woodland students Thursday. It advised parents to call the departmentÂ?s community health nursing division at (574) 523-2127.

Wenger, of the state Department of Health, said those people who have been determined to be at risk of contagion will be provided medication to prevent the spread of the disease.

Peg Ramey, manager of nursing services at the Elkhart County Health Department, said Elkhart County sees only two or three cases of meningitis a year. If detected early, she said, the disease is curable with antibiotics.

The infection is fatal in 10 to 15 percent of cases, said Kara Green, epidemiologist for the St. Joseph County Health Department. ItÂ?s both less common and more serious than viral meningitis, she said.

The school administration is encouraging parents or caregivers with questions to rely only on accurate medical information resources such as the state and county health departments, the Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov), or their personal physician or healthcare provider.